DC Political Fundraiser Elliot Broidy Runs Afoul Of The Law

October 23, 2020 Yuri Vanetik | Orange County, California Politics, Yuri Vanetik America, IFTTT, International, Politics, Yuri Vanetik, Yuri Vanetik | Politics & Policy

Elliot Broidy is an example of money in politics gone mad and bad.

Originally published BY DAVID KAMIONER – LifeZette – OCTOBER 5, 2020

Elliot Broidy’s name is synonymous with DC sleaze. Despite being no neophyte it comes to public corruption, Broidy reemerged a couple of years ago as an ersatz Trump campaign insider. He attempted to profit from chuffed up political access and recently even from COVID-19, as reported in a recent article about his firm, Circinus Worldwide (formerly Circinus LLC) by The Intercept.

Broidy has a past. The former Democrat who later turned GOP bundler plea-bargained a conviction in 2012 for bribing New York State Pension Plan officials. In the plea deal Broidy had to pay $18 million in restitution and become a government witness, testifying against colleagues. The judge in that case even praised Broidy for his “zealous cooperation.” This would have sidelined the public life and political pursuits of most. But for Broidy it was just a pothole on the return road to skullduggery, but on a larger scale.

After resurfacing as a donor and a defense contractor with a new business called Circinus LLC (and now renamed Circinus Worldwide), Broidy emerged as an early Trump supporter. He leveraged his way into a slot as a Republican National Committee Co-Chair and joined Trump’s Inaugural Committee. He did so in plain sight, while portraying himself as an effective political bundler to real estate honchos, gaming moguls, and heirs to megabusinesses. In reality, Broidy took on a major lobbying effort selling the White House to anyone he felt could pay him for access.

Originally published BY DAVID KAMIONER – LifeZette – OCTOBER 5, 2020

The post DC Political Fundraiser Elliot Broidy Runs Afoul Of The Law appeared first on Yuri Vanetik | Politics & Policy.

from Yuri Vanetik | Politics & Policy https://ift.tt/2FUsgDj

How To Set An Example As A Leader

March 6, 2020 Yuri Vanetik | Orange County, California Uncategorized

How-To-Set-An-Example-As-A-Leader-

Few key characteristics make a leader great. Much of leadership is not only about how one sees themselves but how their team perceives them as well. Leadership is about translating challenges into solutions in a way that everyone can comprehend. Leaders work with their employees and team. Their team doesn’t work for them, and there isn’t necessarily any hierarchy. The only pride exhibited is team pride, where everyone is confident in the ability of their fellow peers and colleagues. The most important thing to remember is that leaders set an example through their own actions. Here are just a few tips to be an example as a leader:

Be Consistent
Leaders can set an example by maintaining consistency. This applies to the promises that they make as well as consistently being an available resource for guidance. When the team sees their leader is consistent, they will follow suit. Inconsistency leaves room for excuses for why a person was unable to do something. Excuses have a negative contribution to any business or project because a job never gets done or isn’t completed with high-level performance. So, leaders should always make time to be consistent with their actions and with their words.

Hold Yourself Accountable
Always take responsibility. Leaders are not an exception to scrutiny. Oftentimes, some leaders allow their pride to keep them from admitting a mistake. This can add further confusion to the workplace as it takes even more work to get down to the real problem. A resolution can not be found in the team doesn’t know what exactly their challenge is or what needs correction. This is where transparency and respect for other peoples’ time come into play. A leader should always hold themselves accountable for misspeaking, mistakes, or any inappropriate behavior. Employees will know that there is zero toleration for such things.

Create Open Dialogue for Mental & Emotional Health
Although the workplace is considered a professional setting, this doesn’t dismiss the fact that everyone is still a person capable of emotion. Many people have things going on in their personal lives that may impact their work performance. Leaders can lead by example by minimizing the stigma behind speaking about mental health within the workplace. Emotional check-ups and mental check-ins prove to be very beneficial for the team and the business.

About The Author
Yuri Vanetik is an Entrepreneur, Business & Finance Expert, Political Coalition Builder, and Philanthropist. He brings over 25 years of professional experience across a wide range of industries, and has become known as a leader for his entrepreneurial spirit. Yuri Vanetik has been featured in notable publications, including the Wall Street Journal, California Business Journal, Forbes, and Bloomberg Law.

Follow Yuri Vanetik On Twitter.

How The Finance Apps Mint And Quicken Compare

March 6, 2020 Yuri Vanetik | Orange County, California Uncategorized

How-the-Finance-Apps-Mint-and-Quicken-Compare

There is no shortage of budgeting tools available today. Some are available for free, while others require a fee for more tools. Mint and Quicken are two popular budgeting apps. Here is a quick look at the features each one offers and how they compare to each other.

Both apps have similar budgeting features. For example, you can easily track your expenses by linking your financial accounts to both apps. You can also use both apps on multiple mobile devices. Additionally, Quicken and Mint each offer a free credit score. However, Quicken charges an annual fee while Mint is available for free.

Quicken
Since Quicken charges a fee, you have access to an array of personal finance tools. Some of the packages offered include paying your bills automatically, tracking the value of your home, or managing your entire investment portfolio from one platform.

If you own real estate or you are a small business owner, a paid package is available to help you manage your properties or your business. You can manage lease terms, track paid and outstanding rents, track your profit and losses, or add payment links to invoices. Quicken offers many more advanced features through different paid packages. For example, you can buy a package that includes tying-in all your financial data from Quicken into Turbo Tax.

Mint
Mint is free to download, and it offers most of the basic personal finance tools available today. You can link all your financial accounts to the app giving you the ability to manage your money from one platform. The app also lets you easily track your bills, including any rent or mortgage payments, utilities, or any type of variable expenses.

Mint also provides you with an alert that reminds you to pay upcoming bills. You can set it up to receive a notification displaying the bills due date and the total amount you owe. The app also has an alert that informs you when your financial accounts are low on funds. Mint does offer investment tracking capabilities, but they are not as comprehensive as Quicken’s paid investment tracking service.

Is Quicken better than Mint? Not exactly. Although Quicken has more specialized features, you might not need all those additional tools. The basic budgeting features offered by Mint might be all you need to keep your budget balanced and your bills paid.

Follow Yuri Vanetik On Twitter.

Four Tips To Improve Your Leadership Brand

March 4, 2020 Yuri Vanetik | Orange County, California Uncategorized

Your leadership brand is one of the main differentiators between you and the rest of the competition. It’s what the top talent research for when considering potential employers and what venture capitalists look at before investing in your business. More importantly, however, your leadership brand is what determines long-term growth trajectory and success. Here’s four tips on how to improve your leadership brand:

Set Goals
What do you want to achieve in the next quarter or year? Identify what major changes or results you want to see a year from now. Set goals that are aligned with the mutual interest of your customers, investors, employees, and the business’ brand. A strong leadership brand is result-oriented; it’s about determining what is expected of you and then achieving results that are based on those expectations.

Establish Your Identity
Know what key traits employees, business partners, and customers need from you. Map out what qualities best describe you and then figure out which ones do not benefit your new role in the company. Some key leadership traits to work on include collaborative, independent, innovative, strategic, and deliberate.

Don’t Listen to Everyone
As a business leader, you’ll run into a lot of unsolicited advice from both internal and external sources. While these people may have some wisdom to impart, the final decision should be based on your own research and gut instinct. Listening to everyone’s advice and pivoting your business based solely on those advice will make you look weak, lazy, and untrustworthy.

Own Up to Mistakes
If your business is involved in a deal gone rotten or a security breach, don’t try to pass on blame to someone else. As a business leader, it falls on you to make sure all cogs are functioning properly. Being accountable is a good leadership trait that can strengthen your brand, not to mention earn the respect of your customers and employees.

Building your leadership brand to match the standards of the most successful entrepreneurs in the industry is a lifelong process. Once you build it, it takes work to keep it. One wrong press interview or internal operational decision can easily wipe away years of hard work building that brand. Make sure you live the values that you promote within your leadership brand.

Follow Yuri Vanetik On Twitter.

Fundraising Event Mistakes To Avoid

March 4, 2020 Yuri Vanetik | Orange County, California Uncategorized

Fundraising-Event-Mistakes-to-Avoid-

Whether you are working with a non-profit, charity, youth sports team, or another important organization, fundraising events are a great way to raise money. These events bring together your biggest support for a fun-filled night that nobody will forget. The only downside is that you may actually end up losing money if you do not properly plan and organize the event. These are the four biggest fundraising event mistakes to avoid.

Last-Minute Planning
You absolutely cannot rush the planning process of a fundraising event. It takes a lot of time and cooperation to pull off a massive event, so you need to give yourself a few extra months than originally planned. Last-minute planning will lead to an unsatisfactory event that will disappoint your supporters. You will also likely end up with a very small crowd if you do not give everyone advanced notice of the event. All of these issues ultimately take money away from your important cause.

Not Requesting Donations
Fundraising events are all about raising as much money as possible, so do not be afraid to ask for donations. You may think it is uncouth to outright ask for money, but nobody in attendance will feel offended. A lot of the attendees may not even be aware that you will accept additional donations on top of the admission fee if you do not ask for them.

An Overstuffed Event
One of the main goals of the fundraising event is to make sure everyone in attendance goes home happy. Once they have a good time at one event, they will be more than willing to come back for another one. The only way to keep everyone happy is by limiting the length of the event. The most successful fundraisers tend to last roughly three hours. Shorter events also keep costs down, which results in more money for the organization.

Failing to Thank Everyone
It is vitally important to thank everyone that donated their time and money to your event. Donors want to feel appreciated for their selfless acts. Give a short speech roughly halfway through the event thanking everyone in attendance. It is also a good idea to personally call everyone that gave a large donation the day after the event to provide additional acknowledgment.

Follow Yuri Vanetik On Twitter.

Five Important Finance Tips For Long-Term Success

January 31, 2020 Yuri Vanetik | Orange County, California Uncategorized

Five Important Finance Tips For Long-Term Success

Financial success is something everyone wants, but few know how to achieve it. As vital as long-term financial success is, it is not as difficult to secure as one may think. The following are five tips that are critical to creating a cornerstone of financial success.

Spend Less Than Is Earned
Overspending is the single worst financial mistake a person can make. Long-term financial success relies on the ability to avoid or control debt and save money, and those can only be accomplished when one spends less than they earn. Spending less than one earns also ensures they avoid entering a paycheck-to-paycheck lifestyle.

Create A Budget And Follow It
A budget allows one to see where their money is going and better control the value they get in exchange for their spending. While making a budget is a helpful exercise in itself, the full value of a budget comes from following its financial directives to control spending better. Using a budget as a guide to monthly financial decisions can take the pressure off a consumer and allow them to focus more energy on earning money, rather than how to spend it.

Save Money
Having funds available to help out during an emergency can keep an individual from going into debt at the worst possible time. In addition to saving an emergency fund worth three to six months of expenses, if one wants long-term financial success, they should also save for retirement. When one begins retirement saving at an early age, they allow more time for their savings to grow.

Avoid Carrying Balances On Credit Cards
Credit cards generally come with hefty interest fees that significantly increase overall spending. While using credit cards and paying them off in full each month can be a strategic financial move, especially when the credit card offers rewards, using credit cards and carrying balances over from month to month increases the total amount spent.

Get Insurance
Insurance allows an individual to protect their assets, income, and liabilities. These are essential moves in generating long-term financial success. Whether it is disability coverage, auto insurance, home insurance, or life insurance, a policy designed to protect the insured can secure their finances for years to come.

Follow Yuri Vanetik On Twitter.

Best Books On Entrepreneurship In 2020

January 30, 2020 Yuri Vanetik | Orange County, California Uncategorized

Best Books On Entrepreneurship In 2020

As an entrepreneur, it remains incredibly important to find new ways to learn and improve as a professional. With entrepreneurship becoming increasingly popular in recent years, it is not surprising to learn that many entrepreneurs are looking for professional development opportunities. For many, a great resource for them is reading books on business, leadership, and entrepreneurship in order to learn from others who experienced success. As we move through the new year, here are some of the best books that entrepreneurs should read.

The Lean Startup
As our work has continued to evolve, so has the way that businesses function today. The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation To Create Radically Successful Businesses, by Eric Ries, talks about how start-up companies can avoid failure using innovative practices. The book looks at how to be successful as a business using unique strategies, creative money skills, and more.

Talented Is Overrated: What Really Separates World-Class Performers From Everyone Else
While the concept of talent continues to be very popular, author Geoff Colvin explains that it does not equate to success in his book, Talent Is Overrated: What Separates World-Class Performers From Everyone Else. Colvin goes into detail about how talent is not the main driver for success but is achieved through commitment and perseverance. The book examines specific examples of success stories throughout.

The Entrepreneur Roller Coaster: Why Now Is The Time To #JoinTheRide
It is not a surprise for any entrepreneur to learn that start-up companies have a higher failure rate. This is why it remains so important for entrepreneurs to learn from past mistakes that they can continue to apply moving forward. The book by Darren Hardy takes a deeper dive into the ups and downs of entrepreneurship, while also providing cautionary advice on what to avoid in the beginning. The Entrepreneur Roller Coaster does a great job of preparing entrepreneurs for the many different aspects of starting a company.

While these are some of the exciting books that entrepreneurs should consider reading this year, there are countless more great books that can help anyone master their profession.

Follow Yuri Vanetik On Twitter.

Business Trends To Know About In 2020

January 29, 2020 Yuri Vanetik | Orange County, California Uncategorized

Business-Trends-To-Know-About-In-2020-2

At the start of every new year, there are trends that can make or break your business. Being informed of the latest trends in your industry, as well as overall emerging business practices, will give you a slight edge over your competition. If you aren’t ahead of the game, then you will, unfortunately, lag behind. In 2020, be sure to understand and incorporate the most innovative and effective trends in your business.

Personalized Customer Service
In 2020, customers can expect the rise of smart personalization engines, recognizing customer intent. For example, it is no mistake that Facebook recommends sweaters similar to the one that you were googling earlier in the day. It is not a surprise that Amazon’s recommendation page is based on your recent purchases or searches. Instead of showing your entire shop to every potential customer, this trend highlights customization, ensuring that your customer saves time while landing on the right purchase.

The Power of Voice
With the rise of Alexa and Google Home, smart speakers have been dominating the market. Approximately a third of web browsing is expected to be voice-activated by 2020. Because talking is the best way of communicating for most people, it allows Voice to continue to succeed. Voice searches also offer consumers an easier, faster way of getting things done. Whether you’re in the car, have your hands full, etc., in many cases, utilizing Voice is more convenient for the user.

Working Remotely
Because of laptops, smartphones, conference calls, video conferencing, etc., many jobs have become remote. Sitting in a cube from 9-5 isn’t the most necessarily the most efficient way of working for the employee nor the employer. In today’s society, working remotely may cut costs and provide more flexibility for both parties. Businesses who offer “work from home” or “working remotely” options are better positioned to obtain top-notch candidates to fulfill the role.

Stories in Social Media
The Stories feature was originally on Snapchat. Then, Instagram started their own Stories feature. Now, Stories can be found on Facebook as well as YouTube. Customers love this feature because it provides quick, informative snapshots. If you are selling a product, using this feature will also help customers to learn within seconds about your product as well as any upcoming discount or promotion. In a society where everyone thrives on convenience, the Stories feature allows people to save time by not monopolizing attention, while still acquiring it for a brief moment. For example, Dr. Brandt Skincare drove sales up by 500% by utilizing Instagram Stories and using the Swipe Up feature for linking.

Reviews
When was the last time that someone purchased an item that had no reviews? If they even have, it’s most likely because they desperately needed the product and couldn’t find one that had reviews. Customers in 2020 will be less likely to purchase an item that does not come with endorsements. Buying is much easier when there is confidence in the product. Reviews will remain important in 2020 as social media and the internet continue to reward customer feedback.

Gigs, Freelancing and Consulting
The days of traditional work-life are over. With the growth of remote working, many people are opting to become their own boss and gain more freedom. Instead of working for an employer, many are choosing to obtain gigs, taking advantage of independent contractor jobs using apps, such as TaskRabbit, Rover, Uber, etc. More experienced professionals are also making the transition by consulting full time. As the style of work-life changes, consumers will also change as their wants and availability will change with the switch to entrepreneurship.

5G Networks
In 2020, 5G networks are expected to launch, opening avenues for new possibilities. 5G will offer average download speeds of approximately 1 Gbps, which will change the way consumers interact on the internet because of the velocity. This is also a technology that supports audiences who crave videos versus written words. With the 5G, people will be able to watch videos more instantaneously. Additionally, this product will allow new technologies, such as virtual reality and the internet of things, to explode on the market with speed.

Follow Yuri Vanetik On Twitter.

How To Help CEOs As A Business Development Leader This Year

January 28, 2020 Yuri Vanetik | Orange County, California Uncategorized

How To Help CEOs As A Business Development Leader This Year (1)

The business development department of any organization is the engine that drives growth. However, it’s the CEO that provides leadership and direction for the organization as a whole. Since CEOs aren’t directly involved in the daily business goals of the company, it is easy for a disconnect to develop between business development leaders and the C-suite. With a little effort, these challenges can be overcome, and business development leaders can more effectively support the CEO’s vision for the company.

It all begins by gaining an understanding of the CEO’s vision and perspectives. It should go without saying that it is easier to support somebody’s objectives if you first understand their perspectives. Surprisingly, many business development leaders never take the time to truly get to know the CEO’s perspectives and therefore operate in a constant state of anxiety. However, once you understand what the CEO’s perspectives are, you can align your goals to their vision for the organization.

You can do this more easily if you simply ask how you can help. Have regular check-ins where you focus on how you can help them achieve their vision for the coming month, quarter, or year. Keeping these lines of communication, open and flowing is essential to providing proper support to the CEO. Make it a point to have an open-door policy so that you can build the kind of relationship that makes you responsive to the CEO’s wishes.

Finally, it’s important that everybody working on your team is as enthusiastic about meeting your goals as you are. This begins with meeting with other department heads on a regular basis to make sure that everybody is on the same page with the CEO. Meet with the heads of the finance, strategy, and sales departments before you even think about executing a large project. Once you have everybody excited and engaged in achieving the goal set forth by the CEO, you will find both your work and your relationship with the C-suite will improve. This collaborative and enthusiastic approach should yield the best results for the whole organization.

Being able to challenge the ideas put forth by your CEO and appreciate their leadership style are all characteristics of a healthy working relationship. Helping your CEO to remain focused not only makes your job easier but trickles down to the rest of the organization.

Originally posted on YuriVanetik.net.

Great Companies To Follow In 2020

January 9, 2020January 9, 2020 Yuri Vanetik | Orange County, California Uncategorized

The ups and downs of the new businesses and their effect on the stock market are thrilling to people whether they have cash on the line or not. For those who do invest, it’s important to keep an eye on developing stories in the stock market. And the best of those stories are the ones that feature a big success. When people are making money and setting records, it’s easy for them to be happy. They’re typically chuffed to talk to reporters, too, so it makes these stories easy to cover.

There are plenty of recognizable companies that have a great outlook for 2020. There are some newer companies that are among the best stocks, too. 2020 is set to be a very interesting year for anyone who likes to watch the stock market. There are plenty of healthy economic sectors that will be making their presence known in a big way.

One example of an existing titan continuing to dominate is insurance giant AIG. After a brutal financial crisis of 2008, AIG has demonstrated an ethical and serious approach to business. In 2019, this company was something of a juggernaut. AIG’s 12-month sales topped $49 billion. This company saw a one-year total return of 9.98%. Analysts expect that the momentum AIG has right now will continue well into 2020.

FCA is another great story of a turnaround. At the time, Fiat Chrysler decided to merge with Renault, not everyone was excited. Many of the brand names in FCA’s portfolio seemed to struggle with reliability, however good-looking they were. Together, though, this company has really been able to turn a corner. FCA’s sales were over $126.20 billion for 2019. With the rugged Jeep and Ram models under its umbrella, if FCA keeps playing to its strengths, it’ll be playing for the long haul.

Finally, Beyond Meat is so new to the market that they don’t even have a full year to review. This company’s plant-based, meat-textured foodstuffs have struck a chord with animal lovers and health nuts alike. Beyond Meat helps those with heart trouble a way to more or less relieve the foods they love. In 2021, this company is expected to see a profit.

Follow Yuri Vanetik On Twitter.